The Dragon Mistress 3

by R. A. Steffan

  “Good idea,” Aristede said. “The cool water will help with the swelling. Don’t scrub at the scabs, though.”

  “I’ll go with you,” Eldris said, rising to join me.

  Nyx got carefully to his feet as well, still bracing his ribs. “So will I,” he said, lifting his chin as though he half-expected someone to protest the statement.

  “Don’t overexert yourselves, either of you,” was all Aristede said. “I’ll have the tea ready when you get back.”

  Something settling into place inside me as the knowledge that I really was back safely began to take root, and I nodded my understanding. “Thanks.”

  I spared Aristede another brief kiss, and threw Rayth an uncertain smile. He tipped his chin in acknowledgement, but his expression remained as unreadable as ever. Eldris gathered soap and a length of rough fabric to use as a towel before turning back to the others.

  “Get a fire going for when we get back, will ya?” he asked. “She’ll need to warm up.”

  The three of us wandered toward the lake in the dying light of evening. We were moving slowly—mostly in deference to me, I suspected. Before we reached the halfway point, Lisha and Iyabo joined us. The two dragons nosed at me curiously, and I stroked their scaly foreheads as we walked.

  “Guess I have you girls to thank for my rescue, as much as my human friends,” I told them, before turning my attention to Eldris. “Aristede told me about how he bonded with the red dragon. What’s her name, by the way?”

  “Shantha,” he said, breaking his uncharacteristic stretch of silence. “And yeah, he’s the one who finally figured it out… about being willing to sacrifice for them, I mean. Makes perfect sense, looking at it that way.”

  We continued the rest of the way, until we reached the edge of the water. My thoughts were focused inward—mulling over what Aristede had told me about the dragon-bonds. Something about his words was still bothering me.

  Now, though, I was more interested in getting the stench of captivity off me. Someone had cleaned me up as best they could and dressed me in loose clothing while I’d been out cold, but I could still feel the grime of the cell in Safaad clinging to my skin. And the state of my hair—

  I shuddered.

  Without a second thought, I stripped naked on the shore, wincing as my injuries pulled and ached. Before I could splash into the water, though, Eldris stopped me with a hand on my shoulder. I looked up at him with a question in my eyes, taking in the tension in his frame.

  “What is it, big man?” I asked curiously.

  He let out a slow breath. “I need you to tell me something, love. When they hurt you, they didn’t… do anything else, did they? None of the men…”

  He trailed off.

  It took me a moment to parse the words, but then I covered his hand with mine. “No. No, nothing like that. Just beatings, and what that bitch Lesimba carved into my chest.” I paused, my stomach roiling. “But, y’know, I killed her afterward, so I guess she got her payback…”

  I’d killed several people—not just her. Again. How had I managed to make it twenty-two years without so much as seriously injuring anyone, only to end up being responsible for the deaths of so many people in such a short period of time?

  Nyx cleared his throat. “Killing people who are trying to kill you is different than… murdering innocents.” His eyes slid away. “Believe me, I should know.”

  I let out a slow breath.

  Eldris ran dark eyes over both of us. “You both might be killers, but neither of you are murderers, all right? Every one of us here has killed. I’ve killed for money, and I’ve killed to protect others. I’ve killed for revenge, and I’ve killed in self-defense. Lots of those, I don’t regret. Some, I do. But none of them can be undone. The goddess will weigh those deaths on her scales once I’ve breathed my last. Until then, I just have to do the best I can, and you should do the same.”

  It helped a little. But still…

  “The woman I killed—Lesimba. Oblisii’s wife. Rayth knew her. There was some kind of history between them, and I think it must have gone pretty deep.”

  Eldris canted his head. “Well, if she was his sister-in-law—”

  “Also, I kissed him,” I blurted. “Rayth. After he rescued me, I mean.”

  Both men stared at me, blinking.

  “Did he return it?” Eldris asked after the space of several heartbeats. Genuine curiosity tinged the question.

  A tingle rushed down my spine at the memory of Rayth devouring me with his lips and tongue. “Um… yeah. You could say that.”

  Nyx suddenly looked rather pale in the evening dusk.

  Eldris, on the other hand, only raised an eyebrow. “Huh. Well, I’d been wondering if he’d eventually crack or not. Guess that answers that question.”

  “Oh, yeah. He definitely cracked,” I confirmed, still fighting the phantom feeling of a heated mouth on mine.

  “Could get complicated, I suppose,” Eldris mused. “But I’ll wager that for now, he’ll try to pretend it never happened.”

  “That appears to be the current plan, yes,” I said. “A plan that I’m fully behind, I hasten to add.”

  Nyx still seemed to be frozen in shock. I reached to take one of his hands in mine. “Hey. Nyx. As far as I’m concerned, nothing else has changed, if that’s what you’re worried about. I’ve made it eminently clear that Rayth doesn’t control who I spend time with or what I do with them. That’s still the case, and it always will be.”

  His fingers twitched in mine, but he didn’t try to pull away. “Good,” he whispered.

  Chapter 14: Connections

  Frella

  THE FEELING OF finally having clean hair was amazing, even if there were still a couple of sore spots on my scalp from having tufts of it yanked out. The feeling of cold water against my scabs and bruises was… less amazing. But it was still good not to be covered in grime anymore.

  I was also getting chilly as the last of the light faded, just as Eldris had predicted. He and Nyx walked close at my sides, the heat from their bodies blocking most of the evening breeze. Rayth had set up a fire outside the cave. He was lounging near it, claiming the early watch with Cheen. And, predictably, holding a wineskin in one hand.

  Eldris eyed him as we approached. “Wake me later, yeah? I’ll take the late watch.”

  Rayth lifted the wine in a small salute, but said nothing.

  Inside, I warmed up by the fire and drank the two kinds of tea Aristede had made for me. After letting him change my dressings and eating another bowl of bland mash, whatever analgesic was in the drink Aristede had concocted started to unknot my aching body, leaving me feeling pleasantly relaxed.

  Conversation was desultory, but as my gaze played over the three men seated around the fire, a different—and much more pleasant—kind of tension started to build inside me. Pity I wasn’t in any shape to truly indulge it tonight. Although…

  My brow furrowed in thought.

  “You scheming something over there, sweet thing?” Eldris asked, watching me from where he lay braced on an elbow in his bedroll.

  I smiled. “Just wishing I wasn’t too much of a battered mess to enjoy a good tumble in the blankets, since we’re all here and safe.”

  Nyx shifted a bit restlessly, but at least he didn’t stammer out an apology and flee the cave.

  Aristede shot me a wan smile. “Best not. But give it a few days, and we’ll happily drive you to distraction in whatever manner and combination you desire.”

  I nodded, deciding to indulge my curiosity about something. “Did you and Eldris, though? While I was gone, I mean?”

  “No,” he said without hesitation. “It didn’t feel right, when we were so worried about you.”

  An ache that had nothing to do with my injuries took up residence in my chest as I turned my attention to Eldris. “And how did he sleep while I was away?” I asked.

  But it was Aristede who answered. “Poorly, as though you even have to ask. But I don’t think sex
would have helped with that, to be frank.”

  I chewed on my lower lip thoughtfully, rolling it between my teeth for a moment before I spoke.

  “You do know that I don’t want you to hold back just because I’m not there, right?” I asked. “The whole point of loving more than one person is always having someone around when you need them.”

  “You didn’t have anyone, though,” Nyx murmured.

  But I shook my head. “Nonsense. I had all four of you plotting to come save me. Even if you weren’t with me, you were still with me—in here.” I tapped my temple. A flush stained my cheeks an instant later as I realized that I’d just lumped Rayth in with ‘people I loved,’ but I forged ahead anyway. “Seriously, though. Don’t you two dare deny yourselves just because you think I… what? Wouldn’t approve?”

  Aristede released a huff of something that wasn’t quite laughter. “As much as I appreciate the sentiment, it’s actually quite difficult to get in the mood while contemplating your capture and imprisonment by our enemies, Frella.”

  And… yeah. I guess I could see his point.

  “Well, I’m here now, in case it’s escaped your attention,” I said, my voice softening.

  “Here, and in need of rest, not sex,” Aristede replied firmly. “As we’ve already discussed.”

  I let a stupid smile steal across my face. “Oh? Well, maybe I’d rather lie back and watch tonight. Let you two do all the heavy lifting. I promise I’ll be a good girl and go to sleep right afterward…” I wheedled.

  Eldris gave a low laugh. “You? A good girl? Now this, I gotta see.”

  I was aware of Nyx growing tense next to me. There was an additional balancing act that needed to happen now that Nyx and I had finally slept together properly, I realized, and I’d probably just pushed things too far. Before I could try to backtrack and make it into a joke, however, Aristede rescued me.

  “Perhaps another time. For one thing, it would be rude to chase Nyx from his bedroll with our shamelessness, don’t you agree?”

  He met Nyx’s gaze with a look of apology, and I assumed that would be that. Then Nyx spoke up, shocking the hell out of me.

  “Maybe I’d like to stay and watch, too.” There was a hint of a tremor in his voice, but he managed to keep his chin up and hold Aristede’s eyes. “If… that’s all right, I mean.”

  Aristede blinked at him, temporarily rendered speechless. I couldn’t blame him—I was lost for words as well.

  Eldris looked from one to the other of us, and shrugged. “Hey, if you’re sure, then I’ve got no problem with it. Ari?”

  Aristede seemed to break himself free of his shock. “I’m not averse, necessarily. Merely… surprised.”

  That made two of us, to put it mildly. Nyx had always been as jumpy as a rabbit stuck in a dog kennel when he was around Aristede. Though I had noticed a change in him, since I’d returned. I couldn’t help wondering if something had happened between the two of them in my absence… but if so, it was only really my business if they decided to make it my business. Besides, whatever it was, it had apparently been a positive development.

  Nyx shrugged, still looking tense and uncomfortable. “It’s just watching, right? If I change my mind, I can always get up and leave.”

  “Course you can,” Eldris said. “Ain’t that right, Ari?”

  “So it is,” Aristede agreed, watching Nyx closely for a moment before his gray eyes fell on me. “Frella, what say you? You’ve been awfully quiet.”

  I unfroze my vocal chords. “Please… like I’m going to raise an objection to having my three favorite people here while sex happens?”

  Next to me, Nyx relaxed minutely. Eldris gave me a knowing smile. “Might as well get comfortable in that case, Trouble. Sure, you’re all squirmy and restless now. But when the sleeping draught in that tea hits you properly, you’ll be out like a snuffed candle.”

  I settled myself on my side, cushioned by the pile of blankets I’d commandeered, putting my back to Nyx in hope that it would take some of the pressure off him

  “Guess you’d better get to it then, hadn’t you?” I teased, bracing on an elbow and resting my head in my hand.

  Eldris had returned from the lake bare-chested, while I was only wearing a thigh-length tunic. By contrast, both Nyx and Aristede were almost fully dressed.

  “Well,” Aristede said philosophically as Eldris rose and reeled him in, “I daresay I’ll sleep well tonight, at least.”

  “Hmm,” Eldris observed. “If I didn’t know better, I’d say that sounded like a challenge.” At which point, he closed the final distance between them and gave Aristede something else to do with his mouth.

  Nyx made a small noise behind me—a sharp, quick inhalation. I was almost more interested in watching his reaction than watching Eldris and Aristede kiss, but my position in front of him made it impossible to crane around and look without being terribly obvious about it. Since I knew that staring at him would only make him more self-conscious, I contented myself with listening to him while I kept my eyes firmly on the show in front of me.

  Gods, I’d missed these men. I could feel the sedative in the tea beginning to dull the sharp edges of my awareness, but I fought its effects. Without prompting, Aristede started kissing his way down Eldris’ chest and stomach. They clearly weren’t interested in dragging it out—though whether that was in deference to my need for sleep or because they’d been denying themselves for days, I wasn’t sure.

  Whatever the case, Aristede wasted no time in getting Eldris’ breeches open, freeing his cock and swallowing it. He looked up from his position kneeling on the pile of blankets, holding Eldris’ gaze from beneath dark eyelashes. Eldris looked down at him, a soft, punched-out noise escaping his lungs. He gathered Aristede’s curtain of dark hair away from his face with one hand, holding it out of the way in a tender grip.

  The sight sent a frisson of warmth along the length of my body, and I trailed the fingers of my free hand over my hip, playing with the hem of the tunic I was wearing. Behind me, I heard Nyx breathing raggedly, but there was no stir of movement from him… no indication that he might get up and flee the cave.

  “How does it feel, Eldris?” I asked hoarsely. “It looks so good… so hot…”

  “Mmm. Feels hot, too. You know what he’s like, sweet thing. A mouth like temptation…”

  Aristede’s eyes slipped closed like he was soaking up the words; layering them around all his worries and cares… using them as a wall to keep everything bad at bay. Just like every other time we’d been together, he fell so beautifully into that place of serenity. It made something inside my chest swell to know that I played a part in giving him these moments of peace.

  With the tea dulling the pain of my injuries and muffling any inhibitions I might normally have laid claim to, I let my hand move toward my center, lifting my top leg out of the way so I could cup my sex. The heel of my hand ground against my flesh with firm strokes, my sense of time slipping away as Aristede brought Eldris to completion with hands and mouth.

  Everything seemed layered with a sense of distance, thanks to the medicinal herbs spreading through my body. I knew I wasn’t going to be able to come, but just being here like this with the men I loved felt wonderful. Eldris braced a hand on Aristede’s shoulder for balance as he came down from his release, while Aristede tucked him away carefully and re-laced his breeches.

  When he was finished, Eldris went to his knees as well, pulling Aristede’s high-necked tunic over his head. Rather than remove it completely, he left the sleeves around Aristede’s arms. Positioning Aristede’s wrists at the small of his back, Eldris wrapped the linen shirt around and around them until he was hopelessly tangled. Then, he kissed Aristede deeply and spilled him backward onto the bedroll in a loose sprawl, with his bound arms trapped beneath his body.

  And, oh… that was nice. It was even nicer when Eldris murmured something too low for me to hear as he freed Aristede’s cock from his trousers, taking possession of it with
firm strokes. Aristede made a low whining noise in the back of his throat and arched into the contact, making a show of it.

  My hand grew so heavy that it slid away from my sex, but I barely noticed. It was becoming way too difficult to keep track of more than one thing at once, and the thing I cared most about was happening on Eldris’ bedroll. Within minutes, Aristede was panting and writhing, obviously close.

  Eldris slowed the movement of his hand, sliding down to cup and roll Aristede’s balls when the smaller man groaned in frustration.

  “What do you think, Trouble?” he asked. “Shall I let him come?”

  I had opinions on the matter… probably. Too bad the tea had me locked firmly in its grip. I tried to say something, but all that came out was an unintelligible murmur of syllables.

  Eldris chuckled. “… and we’ve lost her. Rest well, sweet thing. We’ll come and curl up with you as soon as we’re done here.”

  A ridiculous smile slid over my face, and I hummed vague agreement as I tried to focus on keeping my eyes open so I could at least watch them for a while longer. Aristede was still breathing hard, but it looked like he’d pulled back from the edge, at least.

  “Well, if she can’t answer, I will,” he panted. “Yes, you great lout, you should stop teasing and let me c—”

  The word was cut off when Eldris covered Aristede’s mouth with his large hand, muffling his protest. “Wasn’t asking your opinion on the matter, love,” he said, clearly amused. “How about it, Nyx? What say you?”

  There was a pause. I thought about rolling over to look at him, but it suddenly felt like way too much work.

  “No,” Nyx said in a rough voice. “Not yet.”

  Eldris’ teeth flashed in a brief, wicked smile. “Well, now. A man after my own heart, it seems.”

  Aristede groaned against Eldris’ palm, his head falling back in the nest of blankets. Eldris started teasing him higher again, driving him back to the edge with casual, unhurried strokes. I was beginning to lose little chunks of time, my eyes slipping closed without my permission, but I blinked them open blearily when Eldris spoke again. Aristede was thrashing under his grip, heels trying and failing to get purchase on the blankets beneath him as he groaned and grunted.